January 29
Events * 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. *1595 - William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is probably first performed. *1676 - Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia. *1814 - France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne. *1834 - US President Andrew Jackson orders first use of federal soldiers to suppress a labor dispute. *1845 - "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe is published in the New York Evening Mirror. *1850 - Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress. *1856 - Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross. *1861 - Kansas admitted as the 34th U.S. state. *1863 - Bear River Massacre. *1886 - Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile. *1891 - Liliuokalani is proclaimed Queen of Hawaii, its last monarch. *1900 - The American League is organized in Philadelphia with 8 founding teams. *1916 - World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins. *1936 - The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced. *1943 - The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, U.S. cruiser Chicago is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers. *1944 - [[Wikipedia:USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS Missouri]] the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy is launched. * 1944 - World War II: The Battle of Cisterna takes place in central Italy. * 1944 - World War II: About 38 men, women, and children die in the Koniuchy massacre in Poland. *1959 - Sleeping Beauty, an animated feature produced by Walt Disney based upon a fairy tale, is released. *1963 - First inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced. * 1964 - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released in the United States. *1966 - The first of 608 performances of Sweet Charity opens at the Palace Theatre. *1978 - Sweden outlaws aerosol sprays due to their harmful effect on the ozone layer, becoming the first nation to enact such a ban. *1989 - Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making them the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so *1995 - Super Bowl XXIX: The San Francisco 49ers defeat the San Diego Chargers 49-26 and become the first NFL team to win five Super Bowl titles. *1996 - President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear testing. * 1996 - La Fenice, Venice's opera house, is destroyed by fire. *1998 - In Birmingham, a bomb explodes at an abortion clinic, killing one and severely wounding another. Serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph is suspected as the culprit. *2001 - Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals. *2002 - In his State of the Union Address, United States President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of Evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea. *2004 - Cannabis and cannabis resin downgraded from Class B in United Kingdom *2005 - The first direct commercial flights from the mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines carrier landed in Beijing. *2006 - Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is sworn in as the Emir of Kuwait. Births *1584 - Frederick Henry (d. 1647) *1632 - Johann Georg Graevius, German classical scholar and critic (d. 1703) *1688 - Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish scientist and philosopher (d. 1772) *1711 - Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (d. 1788) *1715 - Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian composer (d. 1777) *1717 - Jeffrey Amherst, British military leader (d. 1797) *1718 - Paul Rabaut, French Huguenot pastor (d. 1794) *1737 - Thomas Paine, American patriot (d. 1809) *1749 - King Christian VII of Denmark (d. 1808) *1754 - Moses Cleaveland, founder of the city of Cleveland (d. 1806) *1782 - Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871) *1810 - Ernst Kummer, German mathematician (d. 1893) *1843 - William McKinley, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901) *1846 - Karol Olszewski, Polish scientist (d. 1915) *1860 - Anton Chekhov, Russian writer (d. 1904) *1862 - Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934) *1866 - Romain Rolland, French writer, Nobel Laureate (d. 1944) *1867 - Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Spanish writer (d. 1928) *1874 - John D. Rockefeller Jr., American entrepreneur (d. 1960) *1876 - Havergal Brian, British composer (d. 1972) *1877 - Georges Catroux, French general (d. 1969) *1880 - W.C. Fields, American actor (d. 1946) *1891 - Elizaveta Gerdt, Russian ballerina (d. 1975) * 1891 - R. Norris Williams, American tennis player, also a survivor of the RMS Titanic Disaster d. 1968) *1895 - Muna Lee, American poet (d. 1965) *1901 - Allen B. DuMont, American scientist and inventor (d. 1965) *1905 - Barnett Newman, American painter (d. 1970) *1910 - Colin Middleton, Irish artist (d. 1983) *1911 - Peter von Siemens, German industrialist (d. 1986) *1913 - Victor Mature, American actor (d. 1999) * 1913 - Daniel Taradash, American screenwriter (d. 2003) * 1913 - Peter von Zahn, German journalist and writer (d. 2001) *1915 - John Serry, American musician, composer, arranger (d. 2003) *1918 - John Forsythe, American actor *1920 - José Luis de Villalonga, Spanish aristocrat, author, and actor (d. 2007) *1921 - Anthony George, American actor (d. 2005) *1922 - Gerda Steinhoff, Nazi concetraation camp supervisor (d. 1946) *1923 - Paddy Chayefsky, American writer (d. 1981) * 1923 - Ivo Robic, Croatian singer and songwriter (d. 2000) *1924 - Luigi Nono, Italian composer (d. 1990) * 1924 - Marcelle Ferron, Quebec painter and stained glass artist (d. 2001) *1926 - Franco Cerri, Italian musician * 1926 - Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996) *1927 - Edward Abbey, American author and environmentalist (d. 1989) *1928 - Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong property developer *1929 - Gordon Solie, American professional wrestling announcer (d. 2000) *1930 - Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (d. 2005) * 1930 - John Junkin, English radio, television and film performer and scriptwriter (d. 2006) *1932 - Tommy Taylor, English footballer (d. 1958) * 1932 - George Allen, English footballer *1933 - Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (d. 2004) * 1933 - Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension) (d. 2001) *1936 - James Jamerson, American bass guitarist for Motown Records (d. 1983) *1939 - Germaine Greer, Australian writer *1940 - Katharine Ross, American actress * 1940 - Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver *1942 - Claudine Longet, French singer, dancer and convicted murderer *1944 - Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda *1945 - Jim Nicholson, Irish politician * 1945 - Tom Selleck, American actor *1947 - Linda B. Buck, American scientist, Nobel laureate * 1947 - David Byron, English singer (Uriah Heep) (d. 1985) * 1947 - Marián Varga, Slovak musician *1948 - Cristina Saralegui, American talk-show host * 1948 - Marc Singer, Canadian-born actor *1950 - Ann Jillian, American actress * 1950 - Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver *1951 - Andy Roberts, West Indian cricketer *1952 - Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-born musician and record producer (The Ramones) *1953 - Hwang Woo-Suk, South Korean biomedical scientist * 1953 - Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995) * 1953 - Lynne McGranger, Australian actress *1954 - Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba, American singer (The Dictators and MC5) * 1954 - Terry Kinney, American actor * 1954 - Oprah Winfrey, American producer, actress, talk show host, and publisher * 1954 - Doug Risebrough, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive *1955 - Lynne McGranger, Australian actress *1957 - Grazyna Miller, Italian poet, translator, and journalist *1960 - Matthew Ashford, American actor * 1960 - Gia Carangi, American model (d. 1986) * 1960 - Sean Kerly, English field hockey player * 1960 - Greg Louganis, American diver * 1960 - Steve Sax, American baseball player * 1960 - J. G. Thirlwell, Australian-born musician *1962 - Nicholas Turturro, American actor *1963 - Bob Holly, American professional wrestler *1964 - Andre Reed, American football player * 1964 - John Habyan, American baseball player * 1964 - Roddy Frame, lead singer of Scottish New Wave band Aztec Camera *1965 - Dominik Hašek, Czech ice hockey player * 1965 - Peter Lundgren, Swedish tennis coach *1966 - Romário, Brazilian footballer *1967 - Cyril Suk, Czech tennis player *1968 - Edward Burns, American actor * 1968 - Sora Jung, Korean actress *1969 - Thomas Jane, American actor * 1969 - Hyde, Japanese singer *1970 - Heather Graham, American actress * 1970 - Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian shooter * 1970 - Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer *1973 - Jason Schmidt, American baseball player *1975 - Sara Gilbert, American actress *1976 - Charles Divins, American model-turned-actor *1977 - Justin Hartley, American actor *1978 - Martin Schmitt, German ski jumper * 1978 - Rob Bironas, American football player *1979 - April Scott, American actress and model * 1979 - Sui Feifei, Chinese basketball player *1980 - Yael Bar-Zohar, Israeli actress and model *1981 - Jonny Lang, American musician *1981 - Álex Ubago, Spanish musician *1982 - Heidi Mueller, American actress *1983 - Nedžad Sinanović, Bosnian basketball player *1985 - Athina Onassis, French heiress *1985 - Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player *1986 - Drew Tyler Bell, American actor * 1986 - Mark Howard, English football player *1987 - Spencer Clark, American race car driver (d. 2006) * 1987 - Matthew Wilson, English world rally driver *1991 - Hugh Grosvenor, Son of the British Duke of Westminster and heir-apparent to his father's estate *1993 - Michelle Larcher De Brito, Portuguese tennis player. *1996 - Megan Jossa, English actress Deaths *1119 - Pope Gelasius II *1342 - Louis I (b. 1279) *1597 - Elias Ammerbach, German organist (b. 1530) *1608 - Frederick I (b. 1557) *1647 - Francis Meres, English writer (b. 1565) *1676 - Tsar Alexis I of Russia (b. 1629) *1678 - Jeronimo Lobo, Portuguese Jesuit missionary (b. 1593) *1696 - Ivan V, Russian tsar (b. 1666) *1706 - Charles Sackville, English poet and courtier (b. 1638) *1730 - Tsar Peter II of Russia (b. 1715) *1737 - George Hamilton, British soldier (b. 1666) *1743 - André-Hercule de Fleury, chief minister under Louis XV of France (b. 1653) *1763 - Louis Racine, French poet (b. 1692) *1820 - King George III of the United Kingdom (b. 1738) *1829 - Paul François Jean Nicolas Barras, French politician (b. 1755) *1870 - Leopold II (b. 1797) *1871 - Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, French Canadian writer and Seigneur (b. 1786) *1899 - Alfred Sisley, British impressionist painter (b. 1839) *1901 - Milan I, King of Serbia (b. 1855) *1906 - King Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1818) *1918 - Aleksei Maksimovich Kaledin, Russian counter revolutionary (b. 1861) *1928 - Douglas Haig, British soldier (b. 1861) *1933 - Sara Teasdale, American poet (b. 1884) *1934 - Fritz Haber, German chemist, Nobel Laureate (b. 1868) *1941 - Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (b. 1871) *1946 - Harry Hopkins, 8th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1890) *1948 - Tomislav II of Croatia, Italian aristocrat (b. 1900) *1950 - Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1885) *1951 - Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (b. 1880) *1956 - H. L. Mencken, American journalist (b. 1880) *1962 - Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (b. 1875) *1963 - Robert Frost, American poet (b. 1874) *1964 - Alan Ladd, American actor (b. 1913) *1966 - Pierre Mercure, French Canadian composer (b. 1927) *1969 - Allen Dulles, American CIA director (b. 1893) *1970 - Basil Liddell Hart, British historian (b. 1895) *1977 - Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (b. 1902) * 1977 - Freddie Prinze, American actor and comedian (b. 1954) *1980 - Jimmy Durante, American actor and comedian (b. 1893) *1986 - Leif Erickson, American actor (b. 1911) *1989 - Halina Konopacka, Polish athlete (b. 1900) *1991 - Yasushi Inoue, Japanese historian (b. 1907) *1993 - Willie Dixon, American composer and musician (b. 1915) *1994 - Ulrike Maier, Austrian alpine skier (b. 1967) *1998 - Joseph Alioto, mayor of San Francisco (b. 1916) *1999 - Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (b. 1918) *2002 - Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (b. 1928) * 2002 - Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (b. 1914) *2003 - Frank Moss, United States Senator from Utah (b. 1911) *2004 - M. M. Kaye, British writer (b. 1908) * 2004 - Janet Frame, New Zealand writer (b. 1924) *2005 - Eric Griffiths, Welsh guitarist (The Quarrymen) (b. 1940) * 2005 - Ephraim Kishon, Israeli satirst (b. 1924 *2007 - Barbaro, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 2003) * 2007 - Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim, leader of the Iraqi cult Soldiers of Heaven (b. 1970) Holidays and observances * Roman Catholic saints - Valerius of Trèves, Saint Juniper * January 29 External links * BBC: On This Day * * On this day in Canada ---- Category:January